Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Trunks, Treats and Thank Yous!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.As you can tell from the photo above, our oldest granddaughter, Virginia Rose, is all set for the Trunk or Treat held this past Sunday at our church. She has worn her kitty cat mask off and on all weekend that she has spent with us, but now, with her costume donned, replete with tail, she is raring to go. We are looking forward to meeting up with her little sisters, Savannah Jane and Alexandra Nancy, and her mom and dad at the event.We are blessed with a bright, sunny, balmy October afternoon. The Trunk or Treat is not just about getting candy, but also participating in lots of games and activities. Alexandra falls in love with the inflated slide. After Virginia helps her climb to the top several times,

she has it down pat. Can you glimpse her at the top of this photo?

Here is the happy firefighter at the bottom!

Yes, both Savannah and Alexandra wanted identical costumes for Halloween. Fireman Savannah and her daddy show off the book she wins in a Book Walk (think cake walk).

Here is Alexandra hoping to win a book for herself, but it was not to be. Doesn't dampen her spirits, though!

Now it's time to visit the smartly decorated car trunks for more fun games and, of course, the ultimate prize: candy!

Bean bag toss with the one and only Spiderman!

As the girls make their rounds, and fill their trick-or-treat bags with coveted sweets, my daughter, Sarah, and I repeatedly voice identical admonitions when each little hand grabs a goody: "What do you say?"

"Thank you," the girls say politely.

And I recall, as though it were yesterday, the countless times I had to remind Sarah, and her brother, Daniel, to say thank you when offered any gift, no matter how small or insignificant. I have to admit, I always wondered when an automatic show of gratitude would permanently kick in.

But in observing Sarah with her girls, she clearly values that lesson learned long ago, and is committed to instilling the same gratitude attitude in her children.

And this begs the question: How many times a day do we say, "Thank you" to God, for all His continual blessings in the past, and in the here and now? Even in the lowest of circumstances, can we still utter those two simple words of gratitude, knowing that our Lord has everything in His loving hands? I'm not saying this is easy, but it's necessary. Choosing to be thankful, even in the tough moments, can work to amazingly restore our hope, our faith and our trust in the One who deserves all our thanks and praise, all the time.

I don't know if you, who are reading this post right now, have children or grandchildren who are still learning this lesson, but when my kids were young, I made up this jingle to the tune, "Love and Marriage."

Please and thank you

Please and thank you

Three little magic words are

Please and thank you

Any time or weather

Please and thank you go together

"Please"when we are praying to God. "Thank you" because we know He hears our prayers.

Catwoman and Spiderman in the same picture! It was superhero heaven I bet!! :) thanks for the great pictures Martha. Loved seeing the smiles on your grandchildren. And thanks for the lesson. We also worked to instill those simple words into our girls' language. it is there.

I hadn't thought of Catwoman, Bill. LOL! That is a great pairing of superheroes. And instilling those words in our little ones can be a super effort, as you've attested here. Glad you enjoyed to photos, too!Love and blessings!

This looks like a lot of fun! Our church does not recognize Halloween in any form so we don't have anything like this. I like, though, how you teach the grands the idea of thankfulness. A good lesson to learn.

Thanks, Kathy, for your kind words here. No, not every church holds these type of events at Halloween, but it is a safe, wholesome environment in which to trick-or-treat these days when going door to door in neighborhoods is uncertain at best. Thanks for stopping by!Love and blessings!

Yes, Terri, it is a fun, safe way for children to enjoy the holiday in a safe and secure environment. So grateful for all the folks who volunteered their time and energy to make this a memorable event. And yes, in everything, give thanks to the Lord!Love and blessings!

Oh, yes, Trudy, this is the most fun and safe way for children to enjoy a harmless trick-or-treat. And we can't even begin to thank God enough for His unexpected and overwhelming blessings when we least expect them.Love and blessings!

Oh, yes, he does! Thankfulness, I believe, is akin to Godliness, and needs to be elevated in our minds and hearts. For it is only by God's grace and forgiveness that we can even live and give thanks.Love and blessings!

What beautiful children! This event sounds like a perfect alternative to visiting residential porches. I love your 'please and thank you' ditty; hope you don't mind if I share it with my own 'littles'?

Oh, yes, Myra, please share! That's why I posted it on the blog. I was hoping this simple reminder would dig deeper into the hearts of children and grandchildren.Thank you for your compliments about the grands. We had so much fun at this event, and I will treasure this memory for years to come. Love and blessings!

as always love the photos. I have been overwhelmed with thankfulness lately.Found myself just this morning thanking God for amazing little touches throughout the day. There sure is power to this practice. Glad your girls know to say thank you. Thank you for being such a dear friend!

And Jean, I'm thanking God at this very moment in reading your comment, that you are such a precious friend by His Grace! How else would we have possibly come to know one another? The Lord, our God, knows and sees, and He faithfully places in our paths the people who will help His kingdom flourish. I give so much thanks for you!Love and blessings!

Your granddaughters are beautiful! You are blessed. Thanks for sharing them with us. Thanks also for your kind comments on my blog. I treasure your kindness and support. So glad we met through blogging. :) Take care and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thank you so much, Karen, for your sweet words here. Yes, I treasure my granddaughters, and know what a blessing they are. I, too, am so glad we met through blogging, and I will really miss your informative posts, but I definitely understand the need to step away, especially when new ventures and opportunities are opening up. I'm so thankful that you, even in your hiatus, are continuing to support my writing. It means the world to me!Love and blessings!

Please and Thank You! I love that little jingle! What a great way to teach the children. And I love seeing your darling granddaughters in their adorable outfits. Fun that the younger two both wanted to be firefighters! Who know? Maybe they will be just that someday. Virginia looks so cute in her kitty outfit too. Yes, we must remember to say Please and Thank you to the Lord for all the wonderful things He does for us each and every day. I try to say thank You more often than Please!! This was good.

Pamela, I try to say thank you to the Lord much more than please, too. These days, even with all the mess in the world, there are still countless things to be grateful for, and we need to acknowledge God's goodness toward us.Glad you enjoyed the photos, too. The girls had such a marvelous time!Love and blessings!

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Have you met Davy? Racer? Reverend? If you haven't you're missing out on a reading adventure bar none! I have six novels published, and you can visit me and order at my author's website: www.gladetrilogy.wix.com/theglade. Hope you will all become avid readers and fans! If you're on Facebook, you can also keep up with me at www.facebook.com/nantahala55.
I am blessed to be married to my wonderful Danny Together, we share four children (two "step" for each of us). We enjoy spending time with our almost eight-year-old granddaughter, Virginia Rose, and granddaughter, Savannah Jane, who just turned four this past April. Our third grand-girl, Alexandra Nancy, will celebrate her third birthday on July 23. How blessed we are! We also share a deep love and commitment to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and rejoice in being heirs of the Kingdom through His sacrifice.